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ST. LOUIS -- Maybe it was the Imo's pizza. Or it might have been the toasted raviolis. Either way, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was more than glad to provide the game-winning home run Tuesday night in the city where he grew up. Howard's sixth-inning blast over the right field wall gave the Phillies and blossoming right-hander Aaron Nola a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, who came into the game having scored more runs than any other team in baseball.
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"I was just looking for something up," Howard said of the drive he hit off Michael Wacha. "He usually keeps the ball down, and I got a pitch to hit. Maybe it was a little bit of home cooking. It's always fun to come home and play the team I grew up watching.
"Nola pitched an outstanding game. He mixed his pitches well against a good team. It's just fun for me to be here. I got some Imo's pizza and some toasted raviolis, so it's all good."
Howard now has 22 career home runs against the Cardinals, including 12 in 36 games in Busch Stadium. His game-winner traveled 411 feet from the plate and was his sixth homer this season.
"It was a cutter pretty much right down the middle," Wacha said of Howard's homer. "He put a pretty good swing on it. He doesn't miss those."
It was all good for Nola, who limited the Cardinals to two hits in seven strong innings.
Nola entered the game ranked third in the National League in baserunners allowed per inning, behind the Chicago Cubs' Jake Arrieta and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw.
"That is some pretty good company," said Nola, who has pitched 20 consecutive shutout innings since allowing a first-inning run in a start against the Milwaukee Brewers. "We played really well tonight against a very good team with a very good pitcher on the mound.
"For me, it was about mixing my pitches. I tried to use my changeup a little more often. It has been coming along pretty well since spring training. It was big that a lot of the pitches they hit went foul."
Nola (2-2) struck out seven and walked one. Among his 111 pitches, 76 were strikes. Nola retired the final 10 Cardinals he faced.
Philadelphia right fielder Peter Bourjos' diving catch in the right field corner with two outs in the bottom of the fourth may have saved a run after Yadier Molina singled with two outs.
"That was a great catch and a great play," Nola said.
Hector Neris relieved Nola in the eighth and struck out the side. Jeanmar Gomez pitched the ninth, earning his ninth save. The three Phillies pitchers combined on a three-hitter.
Wacha (2-2) pitched eight innings, limiting the Phillies to five hits and one run while walking three and striking out eight. Wacha threw 100 pitches, 59 for strikes.
"Wacha pitched a really strong game, but he left a cutter out over the plate to Howard, and Ryan doesn't miss those," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "It's a shame, because Wacha was really good. But Nola was really good, too."
After Matt Carpenter led off the bottom of the first with a double to the gap in left-center, the Cardinals did not get another runner as far as second base.
The Phillies (16-11) won for the sixth time in seven games, evening the four-game series at a victory each. The Cardinals (13-14) lost for the fifth time in six games.
Wacha flirted with danger during the first five innings, allowing four hits while walking two, but the Phillies were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and struck out six times, including twice looking.
Meanwhile, Nola was just as good in the early innings, if not better. He allowed a leadoff double to Carpenter in the bottom of the first, then allowed only Molina's infield single with two outs in the fourth.
First base umpire Quinn Wolcott originally called Molina out, but the Cardinals challenged the ruling on the field, and the call was overturned after a 74-second review.
NOTES: Before Monday, the Phillies had lost four in a row in Busch Stadium and six of seven overall. ... Philadelphia is in the midst of a 19-game stretch in which 16 are on the road. ... In their first 26 games, St. Louis scored a major-league-leading 153 runs with an major-league-high 40 home runs. ... With a three-run homer Monday night, Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright became the third pitcher in franchise history to have three RBIs in consecutive games, joining Dizzy Dean (1936) and Ray Burris (1986).
